Cement mix comes up sewer drains

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This article was published 03/06/2021 (1591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A thick cement mixture came up through his sewer line, spread throughout his basement and much of his first floor, and even spilled outside.

Fraser Jack returned home early Monday to discover his Semple Avenue house had extensive damage from the hardened cement-mixed sludge.

“It was spewing up through my toilet, it filled a quarter of my tub. It covered from my bathroom into my main hallway, into two bedrooms and into my living room,” said Jack. “It was about four inches in my basement, too.”

On Saturday, several residents of his street noticed the murky mixture creeping into their homes from their sewer lines. Jack was working out of town on the weekend but returned to find the damage.

“No one really has a protocol to follow for this type of incident… It looked like my toilet was a cement fountain at one point. Cement was caked on to the toilet, spewing down. There was about two to three inches on my main floor,” he said.

Residents have learned the backup appears to be linked to a nearby sewer construction project involving a contractor hired by the city. Jack said he’s frustrated city officials have not apologized.

He’d like the city to compensate him for lost wages, since he was forced to leave work after learning about the problem.

“I can’t even live at my house. All my sewer system is totalled. My furnace is totalled because all my venting was filled with (the backup mixture),” he said.

Kaitlin Bialek said the backup reached her home around noon Saturday, when her husband discovered the cement mixture rising up through a sewer drain.

“When it first happened, we were shocked and didn’t really know what to do about it because it wasn’t like it was water. We couldn’t just Shop-Vac it out or dry it up with towels,” said Bialek.

While she feels fortunate her insurance company quickly responded, she’s concerned about her neighbours. Bialek said the city hasn’t provided much advice to homeowners on how to deal with the mess.

Ideally, she’d like the municipality to cover homeowners’ insurance deductibles and apologize for the incident.

In an emailed statement, city spokesman Adam Campbell confirmed the unusual backup occurred when a city contractor was working on a new sewer trunk shaft. Grout breached the area’s combined sewer and entered some houses, said Campbell.

“We are still investigating the cause of the breach. The repair to the breach is expected to be completed by mid-June,” he said.

The city is aware of 12 affected homes, including some that only had a sewer service disruption. Campbell said those whose houses were damaged should call their insurance companies first, but can also apply for a city claim by calling 311.

Steffie Shrimpton, who said up to eight inches of the sludge piled up in parts of her basement, plans to seek compensation from the city for damaged property, including a phone, fireplace and a VCR.

“I had the VCR close to the ground and the thing is just coated completely… The city is responsible for it, so therefore (it) should have to pay for my contents,” said Shrimpton.

Campbell said the city is following up with residents.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga